Commissioner Considers Suit Over Code Charges

May 2, 1986|By Fred Lowery, Staff Writer

LAKE WORTH — Now that charges of violating city building codes in West Palm Beach are in the process of being dropped, City Commissioner Ed Shepherd said Thursday he is contemplating a lawsuit against that city.

Technically, the charges have not yet been dropped, said attorney Joe Karp, who prosecutes code violation cases for West Palm Beach, ``but once I see the deed, I`ll drop the case.``

Shepherd and his brother, Charles, were cited in December for operating an unlicensed rooming house at 1013 Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach, as well as for a long list of violations in that building.

The house contained seven bedrooms, and only one bathroom and one kitchen for residents to share.

The brothers contended they had sold the house 2 1/2 years ago to Willie ``Squeeze`` McMillan, who lived in one of the rooms in the building, although they held the mortgage.

Subsequently, Shepherd said, building officials discovered the building had, indeed, been sold, but that discovery was made only after the Shepherds furnished the exact location of the transaction in county property records.

``I certainly do feel vindicated,`` Shepherd said. ``Of course, I had to give them the (record) book and page number for them to find it. I`ll have to wait until my brother gets back to discuss filing a suit, but I have an idea we will.``

Karp said that, regardless of when title to the property was transferred, he had no power to prosecute a previous owner for violations.

``We can`t make anybody comply if they don`t own the property,`` he said.

City Building and Zoning Director Keith Whitmer said that his inspectors, who were the targets of criticism for citing the Shepherds while they were claiming the property had been sold, defended the action taken by his department.

``The information we had (when the citation was issued) showed Ed Shepherd as the owner. He had it transferred within a 24-hour period,`` Whitmer said.